The year that I was crowned victor
by midnightstaaarlight
Summary: It's Mags' birthday and she was supposed to be happy, but how on earth can she be happy when Death had finally decided it's her time to die.
1. Chapter 1

**DISCLAIMER: **I don't own The Hunger Games. Suzanne Collins does. I'm just an obsessed fan.

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><p><strong>CHAPTER 1<strong>

I wake up to the sound of seagulls honking outside our house. We live near the ocean, just like every other family here in District 4. We fish for a living. Everyday, my father goes out to sea and comes home with a boat overflowing with all kinds of sea creatures, fish, shrimps, squids and others that I can't even name. My mother and I would trade them at the market, together with the seagull eggs we gather near our house. We get clothing, meat, bread and other necessities in exchange for them.

The other day, my father got lucky and caught a small shark. Sharks trade for luxuries in the market. So the next day, my mother and I went to the market to trade it. In exchange for the shark, we got some nice bread and meat that came all the way from the Capitol and an azure dress that falls just above my knees. I force my body to move and walk towards the kitchen, where I know my mother will be.

"Good morning, mom." I say.

"Good morning, hon. happy birthday." She says with a hug.

"Thanks, mom. Where's dad?" I ask

"Oh you know where he is."

Of course, he's already out in the ocean, fishing. Probably getting something for me, since it's my birthday and all. But ever since I turned 12, I dreaded my birthday. Not only am I eligible for the reaping, the reaping happens on my birthday. Which is an awful gift, by the way. Every year on my birthday, 24 children are sentenced to death. And every year, one of them could be me. Last year, my cousin was reaped and I watched as she mounted the steps that would lead her to her death. No one volunteered for her, not one Career. I thought Careers were trained for these Games, turns out; they are just a bunch of cowards.

She doesn't stand a chance in these Games, she's not a Career. She was too skinny to be trained as one. She was killed on the bloodbath at the very first day of the games. I cried for a month over her death, we were close. Inseparable, even. She was like the little sister that I never had. I wanted to protect her, to volunteer for her. But then I remembered my parents, they only had me as their child. If I die, who knows what will happen to them. I'm just like those Careers, a coward.

I can still remember the last conversation I had with her, I was crying so hard in her arms.

"I love you, Rose. I wanted to volunteer. But I just can't leave my parents behind. I'm so sorry, Rose. Promise me you're coming back." I was able to say while gasping for air.

"I know how much you love them, Mags. Don't worry, I won't hold any grudge against you. I love you, too. I can't promise you that I'll be back, I might die out there. And if I do, promise me that you'll be strong. Promise me that you'll move on. Okay?" She said calmly. She was trying to be strong for me. That's what I admire about her, she remains calm at situations that requires crying and hyperventilating.

"I promise, Rose. I promise" I tell her, crossing the line to hysteria. She kissed me on the cheek as two peacekeepers drag me away from her. "Take care out there!" I manage to shout at her before they close the doors and shut me out from my cousin.

I promised her that I'd move on, and I'm clearly doing the opposite as I think about her and her death. So I bury my thought's about Rose at the back of my mind and finish eating my breakfast. I walk to the shore and strip down on my undershirt and shorts, then walk towards the ocean. I need to swim, I need to get relaxed. I need to forget that today's my birthday and the reaping. I'm 17 now, which mean my name would be entered 6 times in the reaping ball. I shake my head to dismiss these thoughts and start swimming.


	2. Chapter 2

**DISCLAIMER:**I don't own The Hunger Games. Suzanne Collins does. I'm just an obsessed fan.

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><p><strong>CHAPTER 2<strong>

I climb a cliff about 15 feet above the water. I look at the clear waters below and smile. Cliff diving has always been some kind of sport to me. But if my parents finds out that I cliff dive, they'll never let me go to the ocean again. I stretch my arms up above my head and jump off the cliff. I love this feeling. The feeling of falling and flying at the same time. And within seconds, I collide with the cool waters below. I swim back to shore and start walking towards the cliff again when I heard someone walking behind me. I turn around and recognize the person. It's Pierre, my best friend aside from Rose. He's a few meters away, so I start to walk towards him.

"Pierre!" I shout with a smile.

He starts to run and suddenly I realize what he's planning to do. Before I can get out of the way, he slammed into me and we both fall on the sand. Him on top of me.

"Happy birthday, Mags!" He says enthusiastically then kisses me on the cheek.

"Eeeww, Pierre! You are so gross! Get off of me!" I tell him with a laugh.

He gets up and pulls me to my feet.

"Thanks." I tell him.

"You're cliff diving again?" he asks.

"Of course. It's a routine during my birthday, are you still not used to it?" I tell him.

"Well, Kinda." He replies.

"Wanna come?" I offer. His face lights up and nods. He puts his arm around my shoulders and we walk towards the cliff. Talking and laughing.

At the edge of the cliff, Pierre takes off his shirt. "Look Mags, being a Career paid off" he says, pointing at his abdomen which now has abs.

"Yeah Pierre, they're nice." I say, sounding indifferent.

"Nice? What do you mean nice? They're smoking hot!" he says and striking a very provocative pose.

"Okay, fine. I bet every girl in the District is drooling over you." I tell him. Laughing. He takes my face in his hands and starts examining it.

"What are you doing?" I ask

"Oh nothing. Just checking if you're drooling over my abs" He says and we both laugh hysterically. He takes my hand in his and says "On three" I nod in agreement.

1, 2, 3!

We both jump from the cliff, there's that feeling again. Falling then flying. I could do this forever. Fall, just so I can experience how it feels to fly. We let go just before we hit the waters. I resurface after a couple of seconds, several more past and Pierre still hasn't resurfaced. Panic courses through me and I frantically search the waters for him. I shout his name several times, but there is no answer every time I call. Then suddenly something is biting my leg, hard. I shriek and find myself being pulled down towards the bottom of the ocean. I start kicking what's biting and pulling me down. And as fast as it bit my leg, it releases me. I swam to the surface as fast as I could and propelled myself to the shore. Completely forgetting about Pierre. He shows up at the shore a few minutes later.

"Where were you? I thought you got hurt or dragged down to the bottom of the ocean by some kind of creature!" I yell at him. Frustrated.

"Well, I was biting your leg and pulling you down when you started kicking my head." He says. Matter-of-factly. So it was him who was biting my leg. He deserves the kick I gave him, and maybe a slap. So I slap him across his face before he even knew what hit him. "I hate you, really." I tell him.

His mouth was open, completely shocked at what I just did. Or said.

"I'm so sorry, Mags. I never should have played a prank on you. I know it was wrong. I'm really sorry' I recognize the sincerity in his voice and I forgive him. I can never stay angry at him. He has some weird way to always cheer me up, even though he's the reason why I'm upset, or mad. He was born with a very infectious smile. Whenever I see him smile, I find myself mimicking his.

"Come on, lets get you home" He says. I nod and gather my clothes.

"You're not going to get your shirt?" I say

"I'll get it later, lets eat first. I'm famished" He puts his arms around my shoulders, the way he also does when we talk together, and start walking towards my house.

We arrived just in time for lunch. My father was already home and greeted me a happy birthday. I kissed him on the cheek and thanked him for his gift. A golden necklace with a starfish for a pedant. Pierre ate lunch with us and thanked my mother for a wonderful lunch, then left to prepare for the reaping.

My mother tells me to take a bath and to put on the sleeveless azure dress that we got in exchange for the shark. She helps me clasp the necklace and brush my long red hair. She ties it up in a pony tail with a blue ribbon and hands me a mirror, I stare at myself. The blue ribbon and dress complements my blue eyes. And we leave the house for the reaping.


	3. Chapter 3

**DISCLAIMER: **I don't own The Hunger Games. I just wish I did.** :))**

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><p><strong>CHAPTER 3<strong>

Its mid afternoon and all the kids from the District are piling in the square. I go to the section where all girls aged 17 years old are sectioned. I look to my left and saw that Pierre has just arrived in his section. He's wearing a pale blue dress shirt with the sleeves rolled-up up to his elbows and black pants. I catch his eye and smile, he smiles back. When all the kids are settled in their respective sections, Mayor Hooke and Michelle Hudson, our District escort, takes both the seats on the stage.

Mayor Hooke greats us all a good afternoon in a cheery voice. He takes out a tiny notebook from the insides of his suit and reads to us about the Dark Days and how The Hunger Games was created. As soon as he finishes, Michelle takes the stage. She says that we have such a lovely weather here in Four, even though she is clearly annoyed by the wind blowing her green hair in her face.

She walks over to a bowl and says "Ladies first!"

I bite my lip to the point of bleeding, good thing I have a handkerchief with me. I dab the blood from my lower lip, clearly not paying attention to Michelle when I hear my name. I froze, every muscle in my body refuses to move.

"Mags Salmon" Michelle calls again.

I see my face, half covered with my handkerchief, on the screen at the stage. This time, I force my muscles to move and walk up to my death. As I mount the stage, I'm a hundred percent sure that I hear death whisper "Your time is up, Mags" in my ear and it sends shivers down my spine.

"Mags Salmon, ladies and gentlemen!" I hear her say beside me, indicating the crowd to applause.

"Now, who wants to volunteer for this sweet girl?" She asks the crowd.

I see Pierre take a step forward and then take a step back. Of course, he can't volunteer for me. A girl for a girl, a girl must volunteer. But no one does, not one blasted Career. I hate them all, with the exception of Pierre. He's the only Career I know who's brave enough. He sees me looking at him and he mouths the words "I'm sorry." I give him a reassuring smile, but clearly it doesn't give him reassurance.

"No one? Then lets continue" Michelle says, stepping over to the bowl with all the names of the boys.

I wanted to cry as I saw my parents crying so hard, a couple of Peacekeepers had to take them away from the square. Instead, I bite my lip again, causing it to bleed once more. I was wiping my lips again when I hear Michelle shout the very name I'm dreading to hear aside from my own.

"Pierre Jackson!"

Oh no. Not Pierre. Anyone but Pierre. He's the only person I care about aside from my parents. I can't kill him. I see him walking towards the stage, I try to smile but then I lost it. I burst out crying, and within seconds, Pierre is holding me. Hushing me and rubbing soothing circles on my back.

"Give the girl some water" I hear someone say from behind me.

"Well. That's it. We noe have our Tributes. And may the odds be ever in your favor, Pierre and Mags" Michelle says.

Pierre makes me drink and I manage to calm down. The crowd goes away slowly. Pierre takes my hand and we got escorted to the Justice Building. I'm still crying. But not as hysterical in the square. We never let go, until a Peacekeeper forces us to. Pierre was taken away to the other side of the Justice Building. Panic courses through me and I run towards him, but a Peacekeeper pulls me back.

"Let me go! Where are they taking him?" I say. Struggling and Panicking more than ever.

"Don't worry, miss. They're not going to hurt him. He'll just be taken away for an hour to say goodbye to his family. You will be able to see him later' says the Peacekeeper calmly.

Somehow, I'm reassured by his words and I nod. He takes me to a room that's so large I think my whole house fits inside it. There's a couch in front of the fireplace and a huge bed at the center of the room. But there are no windows. And I feel like a bird trapped inside a cage with no means of ever escaping. My eyes started to pool with tears again, as I remember the life that I'll probably never have. But I force myself not to cry. I need to be strong for my family when they arrive. I sit at the couch and start to calm myself when I hear the door click. I turn and see my parents, I give them a half-smile. They walk towards the couch and sat at either side of me. Neither of them seems to feel like talking. So I clear my throat and start,

"I'll fight. I promise. I'll do my best to win." Even though I know I can't win, especially with Pierre inside the arena with me. I can never hurt him, not once in a million years. They nod and they tell me how much they love me, how much they care for me and that I'm the best daughter in the world.

My father stands and holds out his arms. My mother and I go into them. We stayed like that for a long time.

"Win and come back to us, Mags" says my father.

I can no longer hold back the tears, so I let them spill out, wetting my father's shirt. I nod, but I didn't promise them that I'd win. Because I know the odds are not in my favor. My father kisses the top of my head and my mother kisses my cheek. I tell them how much they mean to me and how much I love them, just then the door clicks and a Peacekeeper is pulling me away from our embrace and another one is guiding my parents outside the room. They never looked back, afraid to show their daughter their faces, already stripped off of hope.

I take it as a good sign. Have them say their goodbye and never look back. Start to move on, like I did with Rose's death. Only much, much earlier than I actually did. The Peacekeeper went outside and returned with a glass of water. I drink it and clam myself again. A few minutes pass and Michelle comes and started guiding me towards the train station.

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><p><strong>AN: **Since it was not mentioned on the books how Mags looks like, I made her a red head with blue eyes. I hope you guys don't mind. :)

I know a chapter is short. Forgive me, this is my very first fic. I do try my best to lengthen them. And please review! I'd appreciate it. :D


	4. Chapter 4

**DISCLAIMER:**I don't own The Hunger Games. Suzanne Collins does. I'm just an obsessed fan.

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><p><strong>CHAPTER 4<strong>

The train station is buzzing with reporters and cameramen eager to get a shot of our faces and report back to the Capitol. I hear them shout my name and ask questions about how I feel after the reaping. I ignore them. I see Pierre go inside the train with a guy that I haven't seen before. Someone pushes me, I turn and find Michelle. I assume, she's impatient to get back to the Capitol, back to her life of luxuries. I don't hate Michelle, I just don't like how every Capitol citizen gets to eat 3 full meals a day and the rest of the Districts battle starvation.

I see her elbow a reporter, she must be annoyed with all of these people. I know I am. I hate them. They are the ones who document the reapings and the Games, immortalizing them and reminding the citizens of Panem how powerful the Capitol is. A cameraman presses himself beside me, he's shouting my name to get my attention. I don't turn, afraid to let them record my still blotchy face caused by all of the crying I did in the square and at the Justice Building.

I go inside the train with Michelle right at my heels. She closes the train door and motions me to follow her down the hall. She opens a door to a compartment and tells me to change my clothes then go straight to the dining compartment for dinner. Apparently, this is where I'll be staying until we arrive at the Capitol which will only take a day and a half. I thank her, she nods and closes the door.

I briefly scan the room and notice that there is a bathroom to my right and a bed to my left. Directly opposite of the door is a window and below it is a dresser. I stumble as I walk towards the dresser and realize that we are now leaving the train station in our District and to start our journey to the Capitol.

I change to a simple blue shirt and some gray jeans. I fold my dress neatly and place it on top of the dresser. I go to the bathroom to wash my face; I can see that I no longer look blotchy. I decide to go to the dining compartment. I have walked down the shaky train corridor when I remembered I don't know where the dining compartment is. Instead, I wandered aimlessly down the corridor in hopes of finding Pierre, I start peeping at every room I pass by whispering his name. I was staring at a very large room with all kinds of fancy things when someone tapped my shoulder. I jump in surprise and I turn to look.

"Are you lost?" an attendant says. I assume he's from the Capitol because of his weird accent.

"Yeah. Can you show me the way to the dining compartment?" I say. He nods and starts walking down the hall where my room is. I got this feeling that he didn't understand what I just told him and that he's leading me to my room. But he passes my room and opens a door a few rooms from mine.

I thank him and enter the compartment. There's a long table at the middle of the compartment with all of the fancy Capitol food and my mouth waters. I take a sit and wait for the others. I look at all the food in front of me, I can only name a couple. Like the carrot soup to my right and a cake at the edge of the table.

A few minutes pass and Pierre enters the compartment, behind him is the man I haven't seen before. Pierre takes the seat beside me and the guy sits in front of me.

"Hello, Mags. I'm Clark Skinner, I'll be the mentor for you guys since your District still doesn't have a victor." He says and offers his hand above the table, I shake it.

"Hi." I respond.

"Let's eat" says Pierre.

"We're not going to wait for Michelle?" I ask.

"She told us to eat without her and that she still has to finish sorting our schedule or something" Clarks says.

"Oh, okay" I say and start pouring some carrot soup in my bowl.

I eat almost everything at the table, except for the white sticky thing that's as long as my hair and some kind of red soup, that looks like blood, beside it. I pick a sticky strand to examine it and I hear Clark laugh.

"What?" I ask, confused.

"That's pasta. You mix it with this sauce and you'll have spaghetti." He says with a smile.

"A what?"

"Spaghetti. Here, let me help you" He takes my plate and puts some pasta on it and pours the red sauce on top of the pasta. He mixes it then hands the plate back to me. He does the same on Pierre's plate. I stare at it, afraid that the red sauce would taste like blood.

I see Pierre take a mouthful of the spaghetti and he nods, indicating that it tastes good. I take my fork and start twirling it with the pasta, just like what Clark did. I eat it and Pierre is right, it does taste good. No, not good. It tastes wonderful. I finish eating it in a minute and put more on my plate. I have eaten 4 plates of spaghetti when I notice that Pierre and Clark are no longer eating but instead are staring at me.

"What?" I ask again.

"I've never seen you eat like this before. I think you can eat an entire horse. Of Spaghetti, that is." says Pierre.

"Well, I have just eaten spaghetti and wondered how I have lived without it in my life. I can eat this thing for the rest of my life and not regret it" I say, putting more spaghetti on my plate. "Plus, I need to gain weight before we enter the arena."

"Yes. That's a good way of thinking." Clark says and I nod.

The train is going so fast that I get dizzy. I didn't finish my fifth plate of spaghetti in fear of puking it all out. Clark stands and tells us to follow him. I look at Pierre and raise my eyebrow, he shrugs. He also doesn't know where were going.


	5. Chapter 5

**DISCLAIMER:**I don't own The Hunger Games. Suzanne Collins does. I'm just an obsessed fan.

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><p><strong>CHAPTER 5<strong>

We enter another compartment with a huge screen and a huge couch in front of it. Michelle was already there when we arrived.

"You're late. The recaps have already started." She says.

"Recaps? Of what?" I whisper to Pierre.

"The Reapings. I think" He's unsure.

"Did they show the Tributes already?" Clarks asks.

"No, not yet" answers Michelle.

Clark sits next to Michelle and to my surprise, Michelle places her head on crook between Clark's neck and shoulder and takes his hand in hers.

"Whoa. That's unusual." Pierre whispers to my ear. I nod my head in agreement. He sits down next to Clark and I take the sit next to him.

I try my best to make myself comfortable on the couch. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Michelle grabs a small notebook and scribbles on it occasionally. Clark and Pierre watches the reapings for District 1 intently while I wander on how I will kill these children that were also reaped, or better yet, will I ever have the guts to kill them? To take their life? I have no right to kill them. Only the Higher Power can do that. I dismiss these thoughts and turn my attention back to the screen in front of me. I've missed the recaps for District 1, the recaps on the screen are now of 2. A girl with short dark hair is already standing on the stage with a smug look on her face. She must be a Career. Districts 1, 2 and 4 are the Career Districts. Children in these Districts are trained before the Games. All of Panem knows that it's illegal to train children, but I guess the Capitol ignores it on purpose. For them to have a good show.

I turn my attention to the screen where I catch a glimpse of a tall boy from 2 before they air the recaps for District 3. A girl with chestnut colored hair and a frightened look in her eyes mounts the stage, and a boy who's so thin it looks like if the wind blew hard enough it could carry him away. I pity them. I pity myself and everyone under the control of the wicked Capitol.

They air the recaps for our district next, I see myself looking stunned when Michelle calls my name. I watch myself as I mount the stage and chew on my lip. Michelle calls Pierre's name, I see my feeble attempt at a smile and then started crying. I watch as Pierre ran up the stage and hold me. I shouldn't have cried during the reapings, now I'll be marked as a weakling. An easy target. I'd probably get killed in the Bloodbath, but that must not happen. I need to make sure that Pierre wins. He needs to win. I don't care if he wants me to win, but I will do everything I can to assure his victory.

"Hey" Pierre nudges my shoulder. I hadn't noticed that I dozed off.

"Oh, sorry I dozed off. District what?" I say, nodding my head towards the screen.

"Seven"

A guy with rainbow colored hair is on the stage, he must be District 7's escort, and with him is a tall girl with long brown hair. She appears to be calm, but when the cameras zoom in on her face I notice that her eyes are full of tears ready to be shed. She's holding them back, she must be aware of what happens to people who cry at the reapings You'll be marked as a weakling and you won't even get a single sponsor. A boy who appears to be 13 years old was reaped, I can see it in his eyes that he has already accepted his death. Accepted the fact the he would never see his family again.

Sleep is pulling me once again in her arms, so I rise and tell them that I'm going to bed. I walk through the shaky corridor of the train to my room. I brush my teeth and collapse on the bed.

I wake up to the sound of my own screams. I still haven't been inside the arena and yet I'm already having nightmares. There's a loud knock at my door and I hear Clark's voice asking me if I'm okay. "I'm fine!" I shout at Clark on the other side of the door. I decide to take a quick shower, punching all the unusual buttons that might cause the shower to shoot all kinds of stuff, like purple colored goo, and hoping that I'll still get out of the shower alive.

I head straight to the dining compartment to eat. My eyes shoot automatically at the spaghetti that's already in my plate. I hear my stomach grumble and before I reach my chair, Pierre stands and hugs me.

"Had a nice sleep, Mags?"

"Yeah" I lie, I don't want him worrying about me. Clark looks at me and shakes his head. I shrug in reply.

"Eat up, kiddo" says Clark. I eat spaghetti and the tastiest bread I've ever had. Half an hour of silence passed as we eat when Pierre asks what will happen to us the moment we reach the Capitol.

"Well, first you'll have to meet with your stylists. They'll make you attractive-"

"Hmp, as if I need to get any more attractive." says Pierre. I laugh.

"Yes, yes. I know you're already attractive but your perception of attractive is very different from the Capitol's perception of it. So, like I said they'll make you attractive and help you win sponsors with your looks. One piece of advice though, just follow their orders" and as Clark finishes everything went black.

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><p><strong>AN: **I'm sooo sorry for the long wait for this chapter, I got busy with school. But now, I think I can write again. I really do appreciate the reviews. :)


	6. Chapter 6

**DISCLAIMER: **Suzanne Collins is the owner of The Hunger Games. Not me, okay. :)

**A/N:** I'm really sorry for taking this long to update. D': and as an apology, I made this chapter a tad bit longer that the others. :)

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><p><strong>CHAPTER 6<strong>

"What's going on? Why's everything so dark?" I start to panic and as soon as I rise from my seat the lights were on again. But not as bright as sunlight. And I do prefer sunlight over artificial lights to be honest.

"Calm down, dear. We just entered the tunnel that runs up through the mountains and into the Capitol." Michelle placed both her hands on my shoulder and gently pushed me back to my seat. I look around the room and noticed that Clark switched on the lights.

"We'll be inside the Capitol in about 20 minutes. Just stay calm and finish your breakfast." After that, Michelle and Clark left us.

We finish eating in silence and the train gradually slowed down and in a couple of minutes, sunlight flooded the compartment. I turn to look at Pierre; he's already on his feet and walking towards the window. I follow him. And what I see outside is even weirder than the stories I've heard of back at District 4.

Tall colorful buildings. Cars in all shapes and sizes. People in unusual colored skins and clothing. Children and adults with matching weird hairstyles. Some even stop dead on their tracks as they see the tribute train approach. Others point at us as they recognize our faces from the Reapings that was aired last night.

"Isn't it wonderful?" Pierre says in delight.

"I guess so, if we're on vacation. But we're not, Pierre. So get a grip on yourself!" I spat at him.

"Whoa. Don't be so hot headed, Mags. Loosen up a little." He gripped my arms and shook me gently. He lowered his head to look into my eyes.

"How on earth can I loosen up when we're going to fight each other to death by the end of this week?" I reply, tears threatening to spill out of the corners of my eyes.

"Nobody told us to fight each other to the death, right? I mean, nobody told me to kill you. I don't know if someone told you to kill me. But anyway, don't worry okay. We're the best of friends, I'm a hundred percent sure that we'll be allies as soon as we step inside the arena." He said with a reassuring smile and hugged me.

"Okay." I nod against his chest.

With our hands intertwined, we follow Clark towards the main entrance of the train and on to the train station. We were greeted by buzzing cameras and annoying reporters. Pierre was taken away by his stylist and I'm left alone with Clark until a gangly guy with golden hair comes along.

"Mags. This is your stylist, Kirk." Clark introduces him and Kirk shakes my hand.

"Come with me, please." He said and I trail behind him. I glance back at Clark who gives me a thumbs up.

We hopped inside a car that took us to some building and went inside an elevator. Kirk pushed the button with the number 4 on it.

"We're in the Training Center, Mags. The fourth floor's assigned to your district." Explains Kirk.

Within seconds we were at District 4's floor. Kirk walks down the aisle and enters a room at the far end of the hallway. He opened the door and nodded curtly. I walk inside and noted the huge bed at my left and the huge wardrobe on my right.

"So this is Mags Salmon?" a tiny woman chirped at Kirk.

"Yes." Replied Kirk and I gave her a smile

"I'm Petunia, you are beautiful!" she chirped again.

"Thanks" I said it sincerely cause other than Pierre and my parents, no one really told me that I'm beautiful. I turn around when I felt someone touch, and probably smell, my hair.

"Her hair's perfect!" said a man with greenish colored skin. I wanted to laugh because green skin doesn't fit him. Heck, no one looks good in green skin. But instead I smiled and said thanks. Again. I'm quite tired of smiling and saying thank you and was about to ask Kirk why the green skinned guy told me my hair is perfect when another woman bursts out of a door which I thought was a really large wardrobe but it turns out to be a bathroom.

"Let me take a look" she grabbed me and scrutinized me.

"Oh heavens! Can't you see? Not only is her hair perfect, her skin tone too. Except for some bruises. And her eyes, the perfect shade of blue!" she squealed and clapped her hands, and Petunia did too.

Gosh they are childish. But I smiled and said thanks for the third time this morning.

Kirk cleared his throat loud enough so everyone could hear. "Everyone, please calm down. I'm guessing Mags doesn't understand any of this. Please, sit down Mags" He patted the edge of the bed. I walk over to him and we both sat down while the others remained standing in front of us.

"Let me introduce them to you, first. You already met Petunia. This is Zion and Ezra." Zion, the man with green nodded and Ezra the woman from the bathroom smiled. I nodded in acknowledgment.

"Kirk, uhm, why were they saying that I'm perfect?" I asked sheepishly.

"Oh, that's why because you _are_ perfect honey."

I must have looked dumbfounded because they all laughed and Kirk explained further.

"Since we were assigned to District 4 and your district's main industry is fishing, we decided that we'll dress our female tribute as a mermaid and the male tribute the mermaid's prince for the opening ceremonies tonight. Surely, you have heard of myths about mermaids right?"

I nodded yes.

"Do you know who Ariel is?"

I shook my head "no"

"We should probably tell you the story" offered Ezra.

"Okay"

Turns out, Ariel is a mermaid who has red hair and deep blue eyes just like mine which explains why my team were all gushing and squealing the moment they laid their eyes on me. She fell in love with a human prince and asked a sea witch to give her a pair of legs and feet in exchange for her beautiful voice and like every other story I've heard, it ended in a happy ending with Ariel and her prince living together in a palace by the sea.

Kirk left and told Ezra to call him after they're done with me. They scrubbed and rinsed the grime off of my body. Shaved every single body hair I have, except for my hair. And covered me with strawberry scented lotion that stung my newly shaved skin.

They let me wear a bathrobe and had me sit on a chair while Ezra called Kirk and that's when Zion screamed.

I jumped to my feet and looked around the room shouting 'what?' over and over again.

"Your hair isn't long enough"

"Oh"

"We need to put extensions on your hair to make it longer."

"Okay, but would that hurt?"

Zion laughed a hearty laugh "No, honey. We're only going to clip it on your hair. Now, sit down on the bed"

"Okay then" I said and sat down on the bed.

Petunia brought a huge box of differently colored hair extensions and sat it down next to me. She and Zion started pulling out hair extensions in different shades of red until they find the exact shade of red as my hair. They made me transfer to the chair in the center of the room and started on clipping the extensions on my hair. After that, they made me look at my own reflection on the full body mirror inside the room.

I marveled at how beautiful I looked. My hair has been extended up to my waist; my skin's shimmering with glitters that Petunia rubbed on my skin. And my face looks soft, like that of a child's.

I was still admiring myself when Kirk places both his hands on my shoulders and whispers 'you look beautiful, honey' on my ear.

I turn to him and says thank you. Kirk smiles and wrapped on of his arms around my shoulders.

"You did an excellent job, guys. Now, could you please get Mags' costume in my room?"

My prep team all nodded yes and hurried outside gushing about how excited they are to see me in my costume.

"Come on, let's sit down" Kirk dragged me towards the bed and we both sat down.

"You're partners with Pierre's stylist, right?" I ask

"Yes, you'd you ask?"

"Is he going to be dressed as a merman, or something?"

He laughed. "No, he's going to be your prince. The Capitol loves fairy tails, and if they recognize you as Ariel and her prince, you'd get tons of sponsors."

I nod and wait patiently for my costume. My prep team bursts inside the room, Zion carrying a glittery green tail over his arms and Ezra placing what looked like purple seashell bras over her breasts. I laugh.

"Here it is!" Petunia squealed.

They help me wriggle inside the glittery green tail. And clasp the seashell bra over my breasts. I expected the bra to be hard and cold against my bare breasts but I was amazed at how soft it actually is. Capitol engineering, you can't deny that it's fascinating. Well, sometimes.

I tried jumping to get closer to the mirror and I almost tripped, good thing Kirk was there to support me and guided me in front of the mirror.

I can't help it when my jaws fell open as I stare at the mirror yet again. I didn't even recognize myself; all I see is a beautiful siren staring right back at me. I see Kirk's reflection behind my own and I take note of his satisfied smile. I slowly and carefully turn toward him. I hug him as I feel my heart swell up inside me, surely I'm going to get sponsors all thanks at how Kirk had made me look.

"Thank you." I say as I pull away from him and wipe the tears that spilled out of my eyes. He grabs my arms and stares at me.

"It was my pleasure. Now, stop crying or it'll ruin your lovely face. It's my job to help you get sponsors and when you're on that chariot, I want you to flash your most dazzling smile to everyone, understand? Wave to them if you have to, but be sure that they'll remember you. I did everything I can about your costume, now it's your turn to do your part." He kissed my forehead as I wipe my tears away with a handkerchief Petunia handed me.

They help me wriggle out of the tail, because it would be hard for me to walk with the tail on to the place where the chariots are. Ezra hands me a skin tight black shorts and I put it on.

"When will I see Pierre?" I ask Kirk.

"You'll see him in a matter of minutes, but right now we gotta go if you don't want to miss your grand entrance" he smiles and pulls me towards the door. My prep team hurries behind us with Zion carrying my tail.

I follow behind Kirk towards a chariot with a huge clam on top of it and a number four on its side. By this time, my prep team has left us and handed me my tail.

"I suppose this is our chariot?"

"Yes, the giant clam is where you and Pierre are going to sit."

I nod "but where is he? I thought he'd be here before us." Someone tapped my shoulder right after I finish.

"Looking for me?" Pierre says and opens his arms for me and I go into them without hesitation.

"You look smashing" I say with a smile as I pull away from him. He's wearing dark skin tight pants with brown knee high boots, a white V-necked shirt with long sleeves, and his hair is slicked to one side.

"So do you. Here, let me carry your tail"

I hand him my tail and notice that Kirk and Pierre's stylist, Victoria, are talking intently. A second later, they approach Pierre and start folding the sleeves of his shirt just above the elbow.

"There, you look even better" Victoria comments

"Thanks." Says Pierre

"Now, up you go!" Kirk says as he pushes me up the chariot and I grab hold of a dangling rope that looks like seaweed.

"Wait! I still haven't put on my tail!" I shout at him.

"You'll have troubles getting up if you wear it already and you might rip it. Now, climb! You're heavy you know"

"Right. Got it" I scramble up the chariot and found Kirk just behind my heels with my tail.

"Here you go" he says as he helps me wriggle inside the tail. "Sit over here" He motions towards the powder pink cushion in the center of the same colored clam where a giant pearl ought to be.

I wobble towards the clam and slowly lowered myself on the cushion with Kirk's help.

"Fold your legs" Kirks instructs me as he sweeps my hair on one side. "There. You look more attractive"

I fold my legs while Kirk pulls Pierre up on the chariot.

"Sit beside Mags." Kirk tells him and he does.

"Now what?" Pierre asks.

"Now we wait for your turn to roll out those doors." He points as District 1 goes out into the avenue. "And remember to smile and wave, okay?"

We both nod and Kirk goes down the chariot.

"You nervous?" I ask Pierre.

"A little. You?"

"I'm terrified" Pierre takes hold of my left hand just before we roll out into the avenue. My nervousness lessened knowing that I have Pierre beside me.

"Smile and wave" he reminds me. So I plastered my most dazzling smile on my face and waved with my free hand.

"Look at District 4! Are they what I think they are?" booms overhead and the next thing I knew our faces are on every screen there is on the avenue. "They're portraying Little Mermaid, I think!" said another of the announcers. "Oh, yes, yes they are! What a lovely mermaid and a very stunning prince!"

I waved and blew them a kiss and Pierre winked at them. Everyone started chanting "District 4! District 4!" Over and over again until we came to a stop. We had to wait until all of the chariots are in front of the President's mansion.

As soon as District 12's chariot arrives, President Marcus welcomes us, the tributes, to the Capitol and wishes us a "happy hunger games and may the odds be ever in your favor!"

We ride back to the training center and were greeted by our stylists, Clark, and Michelle.

As soon as I got down from the chariot, Michelle hugs me in a tight bear hug.

"You were fantastic!" she screams in my ear. "Thanks" I respond as she releases me.

"Thank you so much" I tell Kirk as I hand him back my tail. He hugs me in return.

"Come on; let's eat dinner so that these two can have a good night's sleep. Their training will start at 8am tomorrow" Clark says to all of us and we follow him back to our floor.


	7. Chapter 7

**DISCLAIMER:**Suzanne Collins is the owner of The Hunger Games. Not me, okay. :)

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><p><strong>CHAPTER 7<strong>

As soon as I step off the elevator on the fourth floor, I excuse myself to my room. They tell me to hurry back and join them for dinner after I've washed myself and changed. I nod to them in agreement and walked briskly to my room. I remove the seashell bra and the shorts and throw them both on the bed and walked towards the bathroom. I stared at my reflection on the mirror one last time and sighed.

At least the cameras have immortalized my temporary beauty.

I tug at the hair extensions but it was futile, they won't budge. I took a quick shower and dressed myself in a grey blouse and black jeans and hurried back to the dining room. I opened the door and was overwhelmed by what I saw. They waited for me. I know it's pathetic, but I thought they'd start eating even without me and I was touched because they waited.

"Thanks for waiting" I say as I take my seat between Pierre and Kirk.

We ate and talked about what's going to happen to our training tomorrow. It was decided that we skip watching the recaps of the tribute parade and go straight to bed.

After a dessert of chocolate pudding, Clark sent us to bed. Pierre and I walked side by side and stopped in front of my door.

"See you tomorrow then?"

"See you." I say and kissed him on the cheek.

* * *

><p>The nest morning, I woke up and found Michelle seated on a chair beside the window, book in hand and drinking a steaming cup of coffee. I rubbed my sleepy eyes and sat with my back against the headboard.<p>

"Good morning" I say with a yawn and stretched my arms.

"Oh, hi. Good morning. Sorry for barging in your room without any prior notice" She smiled apologetically.

"It's okay"

I yawned again and asked Michelle what time it is. It's only 6 in the morning. I've still got 2 hours before our training with the other tributes start. I got out of bed and asked for Michelle's help with the hair extensions. We got them all out and placed them on top of the dresser.

"Thanks"

"No problem."

"Why are you here, by the way?" I asked her.

"Well, Kirk asked me to bring you your training clothes. It's on your bed. And I figured I should wait for you to wake up so I can take you straight to the training floor."

I nodded

"Wait. Don't I get to eat breakfast?"

"Oh, I forgot about that. Yeah, you get to eat breakfast first. Sorry! It's this novel that I'm reading. It makes my mind wander!" she explained

"No worries, it's okay" and with that I grabbed my training clothes and went straight to the bathroom.

A couple of minutes later, I put on the training clothes. A pair of knee high combat boots, a black V-necked shirt and skin tight khaki pants. I tied my hair in a bun before going out and heading for the dining room.

Halfway there, I remembered I forgot to say goodbye to Michelle and rushed back to my room.

"Hey. I'm going for breakfast. See you later." I say as soon as I opened the door.

"Uhm, sure. I'll fetch you kiddos later." I smiled and walked to the dining room.

Pierre was already there when I arrived; he was standing by the window.

"Good morning, Pierre." He turned around, smiled, and walked towards me and hugged me whilst whispering good morning in my ear.

He released me and handed me a cup of hot chocolate.

"Thanks" and with that I sat down and buttered a toast that was already placed on my plate.

We ate in silence for a few minutes. Pierre nudged me with his elbow and pointed outside the window. I raised my eyebrow at him and he motions for me to stand up.

"Why? I'm still eating."

"Please just stand and look out that window."

"Is that _thing_ outside the window more important than food? I think not."

"Well..."

"Well what?" I say against a mouthful of toast.

"Well this might actually be more important than food."

"No, Pierre. Nothing is more important than food." I say to him, slightly annoyed.

I am going to eat my breakfast and I am going to enjoy it and Pierre's not going to stop me and make me look outside that damn window.

He must've realized that no amount of coaxing's going to make me stand out of this chair for he only shrugged and started chugging down a tall glass of orange juice. A few more minutes of toast eating and Clark finally arrives with a huge grin on his face. He sat down and took a deep breath and practically screamed on our faces "I've got wonderful news for you!"

I almost sprayed him with orange juice but I caught myself just in time

"I bet I know it already" says Pierre, side eyeing the window

"Oh, you do? That's great! That's great!"

"She doesn't though" pointing me with his thumb

I looked from Clark to Pierre and back to Clark again

"What're you guys talking about?"

"That _thing_ outside the window"

"Oh" I guess that that _thing_ really is important. "Okay, fine. What is that _thing _anyway?" I ask to both of them.

"Well, it's –" Clark starts but was cut off by Pierre.

"I think it's best to see for yourself."

With a grunt, I stood up and walked towards the damn window and looked. There is nothing there! Just the city square and some ridiculously huge plasma tv embedded on one side of a building. It's not even flashing some commercial or whatever a tv flashes.

Just when I was turning my back towards the window, the plasma tv suddenly flashed my face side-by-side with Pierre's. My eyes grew wide. What the heck does this mean? And then our faces shrank and moved to the lower left corner of the screen. And then there were words. Words saying "crowd favorite", "Most sponsors (so far)" and then after that came clips of random Capitol citizens.

"I'm betting for Ariel, of course!" says a man with orange hair and matching orange eyes.

"But her name's not Ariel, ner name's Mags." says the interviewer.

"Who cares?! I'm betting on you, district 4!" he says before it cuts into another clip.

"I'd give whatever that boy needs. What's his name again?" says a woman in red.

"Pierre."

"Yeah, him. I'd sponsor him and his princess."

And after that came another clip, and another, and another. It must have lasted for at least 15 whole minutes. I was too stunned to move. Me and Pierre. The Capitol favorite. How on earth did that happen?

I jump in surprise when I felt someone place both of his hands on my shoulder.

"Don't jump!" It was Pierre.

I turn around and started to pound my fists on his chest.

"I hate you! I hate you! I hate you!"

He laughed. "Why do you hate me?"

"Why didn't you show it to me earlier?" I asked back, still pounding my fists against his chest with tears threatening to spill out my eyes.

"You were too stubborn and too busy eating, you silly girl." He pulled me close and kissed the top of my head.

"I still hate you" I say as I let my tears fall.

"I love you, though."

I nod against his chest. "Now stop crying, why are you even crying?"

"I don't know. I just can't believe we got sponsors." I say as I wipe my face with the back of my hand.

I did not realize Clark stoop up until he handed me a glass of water to calm myself.

"Why don't you guys sit down and finish eating your breakfast. And then we talk, okay?"

"Yeah, sure" Pierre answered for both of us and I'm calm enough to walk steadily back to my chair but Pierre refuses to let go of my hand.

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><p><strong>AN:** I'm really grateful to you guys for still following my story and for waiting patiently. I'm really sorry for the long wait and I'm sorry if it's short! D: I'll try to lengthen the next chapter, I promise. And I do try to write often but school is pretty demanding and I have to maintain high grades, I hope you guys understand. :)

xoxo~

PS: Reviews are much appreciated!


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